Mata’afa Named MPSF East Coach of the Year; Six Players Earn All-Conference Honors

ERIE, Pa. – Penn State Behrend men's water polo head coach Gina-Bella Mata'afa has been named the 2023 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) East Coach of the Year, while six players notched All-MPSF honors.

Noteworthy:

* In her first season as head of the program, Mata'afa led the Lions to seven regular-season wins, tying the program record that was achieved just two other times since 2000
* Behrend also picked up two conference victories, which is a program first
*  Mata'afa is Penn State Behrend's first-ever MPSF major award recipient
* She is the first coach in program history to land six players on All-MPSF teams
* Jack Holl (Greenwich, CT/Greenwich) and Ryan Kenney (Skippack, PA/Perkiomen) earned first team selections
* This season, Holl leads the team with 47 goals scored and second in drawn kickouts (23), while Kenney has registered 27 goals, 31 assists, 17 steals, and 17 drawn kickouts
* Securing honors on the All-MPSF Second Team were Eli Anderson (Encinitas, CA/San Dieguito) and Chase Cordon (Canyon Lake, CA/Temescal Canyon)
* Anderson has recorded a team-high 41 steals, while being second on the team in goals (41) and has dished out 22 assists in 28 games played
* Cordon is second on the team with 38 steals and has added 24 goals and 27 assists this year
* Rounding out the all-conference honors were honorable mentions Eugene Kruger (Pleasanton, CA/Foothill) and goalkeeper Ethan Friedman (Valley Center, CA/Valley Center)
* Friedman leads the team with 235 saves and a save-percentage of 50, while Kruger has tallied a team-high 50 helpers and 24 drawn kickouts
* This marks the second season in a row that Holl was named to the first team and Cordon earned second team honors. Kenney and Friedman were also selected to the All-MPSF Second Team last year